Bobcats brace for old rival Buna

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Bobcats brace for old rival Buna

Gabe Pruett

The Orange Leader

ORANGEFIELD — From one District 23-2A opponent to the next, the Orangefield Bobcats are working hard this week to undo some problems after Week Zero.

The Bobcats will square off against Buna at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at F.L. McLain Stadium. Orangefield leads the long-standing rivalry 23-21-2 in a series which dates back to 1961.

Morrison may not be worried about the distant path because his only concern is fixing the Bobcats’ present and future.

The Bobcats gave up 384 yards, including 300 on the ground, to East Chambers in a 26-7 loss in Week 0.

“First thing is we are going to have to tackle a lot better,†Morrison said. “We didn’t wrap up and that means we were not getting people to the football. We had a lot of busted assignments on defense. We need that fixed.â€

Defense was not the only problems for the Bobcats (0-1) who only managed 122 yards on offense.

“On offense we are still looking for guys who block up front,†Morrison said. “They have to run block and pass protect. We have to be smart and not turn the ball over this week.â€

Zach Peevey led the Bobcats offense with 20 carries for 77 yards. Receiver Derrick Evans hauled in four receptions for 43. Steven Stone scored the Bobcats’ lone touchdown from 1-yard out.

The Cougars meanwhile cruised past Trinity 50-7 in Buna’s first game of the season.

Buna racked up 351 yards against Trinity as Ryan Sheppard led the way with 93 yards on eight carries. Quarterback Josh Clark had 58 yards in the air and another 34 yards on the ground and Blanton Crash added 71 yards rushing.

“There really was not an area of the game against East Chambers we watched that did not have problems,†Morrison said. “We plan on getting better from Week 0 to Week 1.

“Buna is a good football team. Coach (Bradley) Morgan does a good job over there. The Cougars run a good offense so we have to be sure to line up and tackle those guys.â€

Morrison was pleased though with how easy both Orangefield and Buna officials made it to move the game to Saturday.

“When I came back on Monday I talked to Mr. (Phillip) Welch and we got together with Bradley,†Morrison said. “We both decided you can only get better if we played the game. We have only had one practice and our guys got after it pretty good. The kids know what we have to work on and hopefully now they will sharpen things up. We will be ready to play.â€